At the end of the day each of these victories has been key to him beating the Tour de France stage win record, and his year with Team Sky was key for history to be made. Besides, he has even spent that 2012 Tour de France working for the team’s first yellow jersey, and his iconic victory on the Champs-Élysées after being led out by Bradley Wiggins and Edvald Boasson Hagen will live on for ages.
Cavendish is perhaps a more appropriate name to have on this list than others – who thoroughly deserved it a lot – such as Tom Pidcock, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Richard Carapaz, Elia Viviani, Carlos Rodríguez, Ethan Hayter, Mikel Landa, Adam Yates or former time trial World Champion Vasil Kiryienka. Just to have a good idea of the vast amount of quality that has passed through the team in its decade-and-a-half history.
9. Sergio HenaoMember of Team Sky from 2012 to 2018, Henao’s influence within the team is similar to that of Poels, where his domestique work was some of the very best of the decade. With INEOS winning Grand Tours left and right, the Colombian was often in the hot seat of the action, supporting the likes of Chris Froome and others through the years. His very best Grand Tour result was in his first attempt at the 2012 Giro d’Italia, but from there onwards he was part of two of Froome’s Tour and also his Giro triumph.
But Henao had more freedom, and over his time at Sky he won immensely in his own right. The explosive climber won an edition of Paris-Nice, won stages in several World Tour races, finished on the podium of others such as Fléche Wallonne and Itzulia Basque Country, and overall proved to be a quality figure for the team throughout his entire time.
8. Wout Poels
A rider for the team from 2015 to 2019, his influence can at no point be denied. He does not have a Grand Tour or World title to his name, but he has so much that no-one can ever take away from him. Poels was Chris Froome’s right-hand men time and time again, mainly in the Grand Tours where his climbing and recovery ability made him a key asset in every single three-week race.
Individually yes, Poels carries in his palmarès a Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory, as well as stage wins in races such as Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, Volta a Catalynya and more with the team. But it were the seven Grand Tours he raced for the team that marked his career the most. Poels was part of six Grand-Tour winning teams, including Chris Froome’s second and third Tour de France victories, his second Vuelta a España and his Giro d’Italia. But Poels also helped Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal towards his 2018 and 2019 Tour victories. The only one the team didn’t win with the Dutchman on board was his final: the 2019 Vuelta a España. But his stint with the team was memorable, and his climbing performances could’ve earned him places on podiums if he hadn’t selflessly worked for his teammates in such a loyal way.7. Filippo Ganna
Ganna has won 34 times with INEOS, more than anyone else in the team’s existence except for Chris Froome – and in a few years this record may come down. The Italian was signed in 2019 and quickly began leaving his mark. To this day he has two time trial world titles and two more second places – in addition to a silver medal at the Olympic Games; coountless national time trial titles; seven victories at the Giro d’Italia; two at the Vuelta a España…
The list foes on and on. Ganna has won all over the place and keeps doing so, with his 29 years of age still allowing him to extend the list quite a lot. But Ganna is also very talented in the classics and has by now came second at Milano-Sanremo, where he has could’ve ended the team’s dry streak of monuments.
Besides all of his individual success, Ganna’s work also includes plenty of supporting roles for both GC leaders and some of the sprinters and classics riders the team has. Nowadays he can do almost anything, but throughout his seven-year stint with the team so far, he has also spent a considerable amount of time working for more experienced riders who had gathered leading positions in the team before him.
Ganna has become time trial World Champion on two occasions. @Sirotti
6. Egan Bernal
Bernal is a rider with a story of his own, unmatched and incomparable. The now-28 years old is still in the age where his prime may be reached, but the performances are far above those of the time where he’s had his best result. Bernal’s career was heavily marked by his 2022 accident, in which he fractured almost two dozen bones and came close to death of being paralyzed. Being in the peloton currently in itself is a miracle, but Bernal has also won three times this year and remains strongly competitive even at World Tour level.
But Bernal’s place on this list has nothing to do with his injuries. From 2018 to 2021, he won enough to earn it with no excuses. The Colombian was an investment, and a brilliant one – one the team could use once again nowadays. He entered the team in 2018, became a superb domestique for Geraint Thomas’ 2018 Tour de France win, and then took it upon himself to win the 2019 edition in style, becoming at the time one of the youngest riders in modern cycling to win a three-week race and kicking off the ‘new generation’ of young riders who reached world-class level at such a young age.
In 2021, Bernal won the Giro d’Italia, adding another Grand Tour to his tally before his career-changing crash. And inbetween, overall wins at races such as Paris-Nice, Tour de Suisse, Tour of California, and more… Bernal has a chance of climbing further up this list, but what he has done so far is more than enough to be part of it.
5. Richie Porte
Porte’s place on this list, like Wout Poels and Sergio Henao, is due to his extensive work as a domestique, combined with extreme success whilst racing for himself. He was part of the team from 2012 onwards where he immediately joined the team’s Tour de France blocked which led it to its first yellow jersey, and stayed in the team all the way into 2015. Every single year he raced the Tour de France, and every single year the team won it, he was a key part of it. In 2013 and 2015 he was Chris Froome’s most important support rider in the mountains and has done countless kilometers climbing at a high level to support the team’s ambitions.
Although he experienced a lot of success after leaving for BMC, his time with Team Sky saw him win a lot and big. He won Paris-Nice on two occasions, the Volta a Catalunya, Volta ao Algarve and the Tour of the Alps; He’s won stages at the Tour Down Under, Itzulia Basque Country and national championships as well besides stages in all of the above (except Catalunya)… Porte was simply a top rider who would be able to rival Froome often if he wasn’t working for him. That is exactly what happened after 2015 on several occasions, and the ‘King of Willunga’s stint with the British team has left a lasting effect.
4. Bradley Wiggins
Whilst his relationship with the team deteriorated after his departure in 2015, Bradley Wiggins’ success and influence with Team Sky in the early 2010’s will never be forgotten. Straight to the point: Wiggins was the team’s first Tour de France winner, and his win at the 2012 edition kicked off the ‘Sky Train’ era which ruled over an entire decade of racing in the Grand Tours. Wiggins, signed in the team’s creation back in 2010, was its grand project.
An excellent time trialist, in 2011 there was work for him to evolve on his climbing ability, and this led to a deadly mix that at the time, had little match in the average stage-race. Wiggins won the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné, and finished third at the Vuelta a España (officially, second place nowadays, behind Chris Froome as both benefited from the disqualification of Juan José Cobo). In 2012 Wiggins wiped the floor with the competition, benefiting from his abilities and a massive Team Sky block to win the Volta ao Algarve, Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Criterium du Dauphiné, Tour de France and Olympic Games time trial race. One of the best years in modern pro cycling for any athlete. He also won the time trial world title in 2014 and has several other quality results in his palmarès.
Wiggins won the 2012 Tour de France, the team’s first ever Grand Tour triumph. @Imago
3. Geraint Thomas
One of the greatest to ever do it, Thomas is the only rider to race with the team from its creation to modern day. He’s now retired from the sport, but has left his mark mostly through the victory at the 2018 Tour de France, a much welcomed sight for a rider who had spent so many years as a domestique. He came close to also adding the 2023 Giro d’Italia title to his palmarès, but with 25 pro wins to his name, he can’t complain.
High level wins too, GC triumphs at the Criterium du Dauphiné, Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, Volta ao Algarve, Tour of the Alps… A top stage-racer, time trialist and even classics rider for a few years – where he has managed to win the iconic E3 Saxo Classic. Thomas’ success is huge, and he raced 22 Grand Tours in his career.
His success is as much individual as it is collective, as he supported the team in five other Tour de France wins. It took him also over 10 years of career to finish on the Top10 of a Grand Tour for the first time, and he immediately achieved it with a triumph at the Tour. But his domestique work from 2010 to 2025, a constant when he wasn’t at his best, takes him up the list in a meaningful way.
Geraint Thomas won the 2018 Tour de France, after many years helping his teammates to success. @Imago
2. Michal Kwiatkowski
Michal Kwiatkowski’s time with INEOS Grenadiers has been one of the most successful out of any in modern cycling history. Rarely has a rider been as good of a presence within the team for all reasons, including individual success, young talent guiding and above all domestique work. The Polish rider had already been a World Champion when he entered the team back in 2016, but his work rate didn’t slow down in any way. The 25-year old was part of the team’s Tour de France streak, having assisted in the 2017-2019 victories for three different riders; each time delivering world-class performances on the climbs, hills and flat terrain. One of the best domestiques in the world for years running, and still is to this day.
Kwiatkowski’s selflessness in the Grand Tours deserve all respect, as he spent many years of his prime working for his leaders towards collective success. But despite this, his palmarès speaks for itself, and he has collected an immense amount of top victories throughout his time with the team.
Two stages at the Tour de France, Milano-Sanremo; Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race twice, E3 Saxo Classic; Clàsica San Sebastiàn; GC victories at Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour de Pologne, Volta ao Algarve; several national titles… Kwiatkowski is perhaps the most successful rider in modern history out of those that has spent so much time working as a domestique. Truly a perfect balance.
Michal Kwiatkowski took a dramatic victory at the 2022 Amstel Gold Race, in a photo-finish against Benoît Cosnefroy. @Sirotti
1. Chris Froome
The best of the best for the British team, the leader of the ‘Sky Train’, and the 2010’s boogeyman for any other rider who wanted to contest the Tour de France. Froome is a four-time winner of the Tour, two-time winner of the Vuelta a España and also one-time winner of the Giro d’Italia (the 2018 edition, his last victory, ed.). Froome is a rider that needs no introduction, but one that has marked an entire generation.
His extensive success during his time with the British team, from 2010 to 2020, will never be forgotten, and includes such density of quantity and quality, that few others can ever match. He has also three GC wins at the Criterium du Dauphiné, two at the Tour de Romandie; and even in non-World Tour events he has had battles for the ages such as the 2015 Vuelta a Andalucia against Alberto Contador.
The face of many rivalries, most notably his against Nairo Quintana, but also Alberto Contador, Vincenzo NIbali, Romain Bardet and several other names. Froome is a name for the history books and INEOS Grenadiers’ best ever.
Froome has had all of the memorable moments of his career with Team Sky, such as the infamous 2016 Mont Ventoux run. @Imago